Mama Loves You, Too
by Melissa E.M
Summary: "I love my mama!" This is the line that inspired this story, the backstory of how Ralph's parents met. Note: this does not take place in the same universe as the movie, but in the universe where Ralph's game and its prequel take place. OCs galore!
1. Chapter 1

**Mama Loves You Too**

A Wreck-It Ralph Fanfiction

By Melissa E.M.

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**Chapter One:** "Ralph's Mother"

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Daisy Mae Hawkins had come from Badland, a small town in the middle of nowhere that had once been prosperous and full of happiness, and during the Great Depression its citizens were brought to its knees. Most families living there moved out to the city to find work, but there were ones too proud and stubborn to leave their property, even when there was nothing left. This especially went for the richer families, including Daisy's.

In happier times, Daisy had a close bond with her father, for she was his only child. It was when she was fifteen that this bond began to gradually slip away, like grains of sand through an hourglass. Losing his money had made Mr. Hawkins bitter and angry, and eventually obsessive over finding a way to make money without having to leave town. His wife, Daisy's mother, once suggested that they sell their belongings and find a home in the mountains. This earned Mrs. Hawkins a slap in the face and a long stream of insults, much to Daisy's horror. When Mrs. Hawkins ran crying out of the room, Daisy's father then turned to Daisy and said, "Don't you dare let that harlot mother of yours taint your intelligence, lest I disown you both." After that incident, Daisy knew that leaving town meant more than a new life; it meant escaping Hell itself.

Daisy ever afterwards kept her activities discreet as she prepared to make her getaway from Badland. She only ever left her room for meals, and only spoke when spoken to. In the privacy of her room, she packed a large suitcase full of her nicest clothes, a pair of dress shoes, a dressing gown for sleeping in, a hairbrush, bobby pins, hard candies, dried fruits, beef jerky, and a small bag of her own valuables for the purpose of selling. She also studied maps, where she plotted a path to the mountains. It was during one studying session that her mother walked in on her. Mrs. Hawkins did not need to ask what her daughter was up to. Rather than report Daisy to her husband, she gave her some of her own valuables and a compass, and told her to make her escape as soon as possible, while Mrs. Hawkins herself would stay behind and keep her husband busy.

The knowing glances between mother and daughter did not go unnoticed by Mr. Hawkins. He grew more and more suspicious of the two of them, and increasingly nastier towards them as well. One summer evening, Mrs. Hawkins made boiled ham and mashed potatoes for dinner. Throughout the entire meal, Mr. Hawkins kept berating his wife for buying an expensive ham. Much to his chagrin, she kept ignoring him and encouraged a distressed Daisy to finish her meal. Once she'd done so, Mrs. Hawkins got up from the table and asked Daisy to help her with their dishes in the kitchen while Mr. Hawkins continued eating. Once there, Mrs. Hawkins revealed that she'd brought Daisy's suitcase to the back door, which was right in the back of the kitchen. She then packed a satchel with a spoon, a can opener, and three cans of corned beef hash, and gave it to Daisy, along with a canteen filled with water from the boiled ham.

"Go," said Daisy's mother. "Go out this door and down the road. And whatever you do, don't look back, no matter what you hear."

Daisy silently picked up her belongings and obeyed, tears streaming down her young face. She didn't even turn to say goodbye to her mother, to tell her she loved her always. She was at the town's borders when she heard a woman screaming for her life. She paused only for a moment, cringing in fear, and it took all her courage to start running, following the only trail out of town as best she could in the darkness. She did not stop until the town was completely gone from the horizon. She was exhausted by then, but she knew she had to keep going. After she caught her breath, she scanned her surroundings under the light of the full moon and put her map studies to good use, determining where she was and what direction she had to take. It would be a long trek from the flatlands to the mountains by foot, but like her father told her during the happier days, Daisy Mae Hawkins was a strong, capable little lady who made most boys her age look like pansies. Before everyone left Badland, she successfully managed to let everyone know that. And now, like it or not, she was about to let the rest of world know that too.

Daisy took a deep breath and marched to the northeast. Hopefully, she would arrive in a forest by morning. She prayed her feet wouldn't give out before then.

Half the night was spent fighting sleep and struggling with the weight of her baggage. Eventually she got so tired she started to wobble over. She wasn't even aware that the dirt beneath her shoes had given way to grass, which cushioned her as she tripped over her own feet, falling asleep on the way down.

And so laid Daisy Mae, a satchel and suitcase on top of her, the moon and the stars her only guardians.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:** "Ralph's Father"

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Robert Grubble, Jr. was the eldest of several brothers and sisters, sixteen years old, yet despite this he was treated like the baby of the family. It was no secret that Robert, Jr. – or Robbie, as everyone called him – was a simple young man in every sense of the word. He was a slow learner, not much of a talker, and incredibly clumsy. The clumsiness was an especially big problem, and it opened a door to all sorts of verbal abuse, mostly from neighbors but also from the more impatient members of his family.

Why was he so clumsy? Well, Robbie had a remarkable side to him no one could argue with: he was big. Very big. Too big. He was even bigger than his father. Robbie stood at a whopping nine feet tall, with a broad chest, stout legs, and arms as thick as tree-trunks. No one knew his exact weight, but it was about as much as a small cow, and cows weren't exactly light to begin with. With his height, Robbie could never fit inside a building, at least not without breaking a door frame or hitting his head on the ceiling. With his massiveness, his body would knock into everything and everyone around him, often causing a domino effect of disasters around his family's property. No piece of furniture could support his massive weight, either. It was due to these things that Robbie was forced to live in the barn, rather than his family's house, using rocks as chairs, an uprooted old tree stump for a table, and hay for a bed. Not to mention he wasn't permitted to do most chores, as his father, Robert Grubble, Sr. – or Bob – thought him to be too much of a klutz to do anything right.

What was even more remarkable about Robbie – and what also made his life all the more difficult – were his hands. Robbie had hands so large that they were bigger than his head, and fingers so thick they were like sausages. This made it hard for Robbie to do even the simplest of tasks, like collecting eggs from the family's hen house, or tying shoes (hence why never wore any), or writing with a pencil. Robbie's hands were famous for miles, and they earned him hurtful nicknames like "Ham Hands", "Freaky Fists", and "Sausage Fingers". Even his father called him "Knucklehead", both in reference to his son's intelligence and his hands.

Speaking of Bob, he was known by everyone in the mountains as "Break-It Bob", because he was supposedly the strongest man around, and could break apart just about anything you gave him. It was what he prided himself on most. Bob was so strong he could lift an iron stove above his head without breaking a sweat, and his fists – while not as big as his son's – were so powerful they could break through several planks of wood at a time. They'd also been known to break some bones as well, which is why no one messed with Bob. Getting into a fight with him was as foolish as climbing into a bull pen with a red shirt on. Secretly, however, Bob knew Robbie was even stronger than he was; he'd seen him smash a rock into dust within seconds at the tender age of three. That was why Bob disciplined his son harshly and often; if Robbie even _seemed_ like he was going to use his strength to his advantage for any reason, even if it was to defend himself, Bob would take off his leather belt and beat him with it. Bob claimed he was doing it for the sake of everyone else's safety, but in reality he just didn't want competition.

Robbie wished his father – or "Pa", as he called him in his rare moments of speech – wouldn't be so mean to him. Deep down, Robbie was a gentle soul who wouldn't harm a fly. He loved animals and could often be found petting a fawn or even holding butterflies on his massive fingers. He loved children and babies too, even when he wasn't allowed near them due to his clumsiness. He liked to pick flowers for his mother, often bringing home bouquets of daisies, clover and buttercups; and if his mother said there were too many flowers, he gave them to his sisters to make into chains. And yet despite all this, his father called him "a big lumb'rin' brute who wrecks everythin' he touches", and just about everyone agreed with him.

Life wasn't fair for Robbie, and though he was slow, he realized this all too well. He was bored, lonely, and depressed. He had no friends, save for his mother, and even she wasn't very understanding of her son. Robbie didn't know how to articulate it, but he would have given anything to feel accepted and loved by someone... anyone, really. So long as they didn't hurt him or treat him like he was stupid.

Just one friend. That's all he wanted. And on a warm summer's day, he got his wish.

The morning started like any other on the Grubble property. The rooster crowed, waking Robbie from his slumber. He got up from his hay pile and yawned loudly. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he stretched his arms, cracked his lower back, and scratched himself. He mentally went over the morning routine: get out of the barn before everyone else showed up, because Pa says you get in the way. Then stay out of trouble until Ma calls you for breakfast, and you better come when you're called, darn it, because the flies will get to your food before you do, and Ma will not give you a second helping. Then go into the woods and stay there until lunchtime, because I'm tired of you wreckin' the property like always, ya darn knucklehead...

Robbie sighed and frowned. He hated it when he could hear his father's voice in his head. It never had anything nice to say.

The large teenager reluctantly left the barn, leaving the doors open behind him like always. He trudged to the slope of the mountain his house sat on, laid on a patch of grass just by the woods, put his hands behind his head, then stared up at the clouds. This was his thinking time, though his family didn't think he was capable of deep thought. He thought about how he wanted a better life than this one, how he wished he could have had more to do than just stay out of the way all the time, and how he wished people trusted him more. So many wishes and wants, and yet even the powers that be seemed to think he wasn't worthy of such things.

Maybe, he thought, he should just run away. Just run away from home, and never come back. But where would he go? Who would take a brute like him in? Could he even trust anybody who did? What if they scolded him or beat him like Pa did?

Robbie sighed sadly and closed his eyes, fighting back tears. Who could ever truly care for him?

Suddenly, there was a loud scream echoing from inside the woods. Robbie immediately sat up and peered in the direction of the trees at the end of the slope. What on earth was that?

Then there was another cry. "HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Robbie immediately jumped to his feet. It sounded like a woman was in trouble. He thought quickly; did he have time to get back home and bring someone to help him? No... no, this was something he'd have to take care of himself, even if it meant Pa beating him for it later. This was an emergency!

Robbie ran down the slope as fast as he could, careful not to trip and fall on the grass. When he reached the woods, he listened again for the woman. She was screaming again, crying out for someone – or something – to get away from her and leave her alone. Robbie ran faster than before, plowing his way past trees and through bushes. Finally, he came upon the source of the screaming: a girl, not much younger than himself, was cornered up a tall tree by a mountain lion, her belongings scattered on the ground. The girl didn't seem to notice Robbie, continuing to cry out for help. She was shaking and crying, scared out of her mind. The mountain lion was leaping up, growling, scratching and clawing to try and reach its prey.

Robbie saw red and let out a roar of fury. This caught the attention of the girl, whose jaw dropped upon seeing the giant man before her. Her eyes bulged as he lunged forward, grabbing the mountain lion from behind and wrestling it to the ground. The big cat scratched and bit as Robbie tried to pin it to the ground. When he finally did, he reached for a nearby rock and slammed it against the mountain lion's skull with a sickening crack. The big cat's eyes rolled into the back of its head, and it went unconscious.

The girl watched with cautious fascination as Robbie picked himself up and dusted himself off. He looked up at her with concern. "You alright?" he asked her.

"Y-yes. I'm fine," the girl replied. "Thank you... thank you for saving me."

"T'weren't nothin'," said Robbie. He reached up, arms spread before him. "C'mon down. I'll catch ya."

The girl hesitated for a moment – not because she was afraid of Robbie, but because it was a bit of a long drop. She swallowed hard and began to climb down the tree. When she was close enough to Robbie, she let go, and sure enough, he caught her, cradling her in his arms like a baby. His eyes met hers, and Robbie finally noticed how beautiful the girl was: red hair (a shade lighter than his own), creamy brown eyes, and rosy cheeks. She was wearing the fanciest dress he'd ever seen, not at all appropriate for hiking through the woods, but it made her look like an angel.

A dreamy smile spread over Robbie's face. "Wow... you sure are pretty."

The girl's rosy cheeks got even rosier. "Why, thank you!" She giggled. "You sure are a flatterer, mister. What's your name?"

"Robbie."

"Well, you're my hero, Robbie. I thought I was a goner for sure! Thank you so much!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

Robbie blinked. Did this beautiful girl just call him a hero? Was she really hugging him? Did he actually do something right for change, and he was getting praise for it? This was the happiest day of his life! He grinned. "T'weren't nothin'," he said.

"Nothing, my behind," the girl said, letting go of him. "You just saved me from a mountain lion! That's amazing!" She looked down at the body of the big cat. "Uh, speaking of which, we'd better get out of here before he wakes up. I don't suppose you could grab my things for me?"

"Sure thing," said Robbie. He bent down, cradling the girl in one arm while picking up her suitcase and satchel in his opposite hand... his very large hand, the girl noted with wide eyes. He then stood to his feet, turned in the direction of the mountain slope, and started to trudge his way back up.

"So, uh... what's yer name?" he asked the girl.

"Daisy Mae. But you can call me Daisy."

"Daisy... like the flower!"

"Yes, that's right! Daisies are my mother's favorite flowers!"

"My ma likes 'em, too. Wanna meet 'er?"

"Absolutely!"


End file.
